Need tip: make selection a New track

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

Using 2.2.2 in Win7-64.

I’d like to select a segment and make it a New track, that is shift the selection DOWN in order to use Time Shift tool, then create a cross fade manually.

Not sure what Keyword to search for in HELP, which is excellently written BTW.


-Ed

2

To “move” a selection to a new track:
“Edit menu > Clip boundaries > Split New” (Alt + Ctrl + i)

To “copy” a selection to a new track:
“Edit menu >Duplicate” (Ctrl + D)

Note that you can also drag a clip up/down (avoiding accidental left / right movement) if you hold the Ctrl key down when using the Time Shift tool.
If the Ctrl key is not held down, you can drag horizontally and / or vertically.

See also:
https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/crossfade_clips.html
and
https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/crossfade_tracks.html

3

Hey thanks!

The word Split is what I was missing. Also great `glitch repair´ tip in x-fade link. Think I’ll experiment with custom cross fades. Sometimes the audio starts in mid-sentence and it can be tricky fading into that from music. Also using Label Tracks almost every day and glad to see that’s better integrated with tools and functions in 2.2.2.


-Ed

4

Am making progress with track Splitting and Time Shifting of the new track to the LEFT underneath, then applying custom fades. Will have a screen-cap soon. After doing this 6 times, you end up with 6 or 7 cascading tracks that are hard to fit in Audacity window vertically.

So I’d like to Mix the two tracks into a single track, which seems easy. That way any clipping will show up, and will save space.

What options are there for the `location´ of the resulting Mixed track? I’d like it to replace the two tracks and remain in place [of them] and not necessarily go to the bottom. Think of it as merged layers in Photoshop or Paint Shop pro.

Maybe there can be a function later on to Magnify a selected track vertically and auto-fit the rest, like Focus on that one track out of the many.

Thanks,


-Ed

5

I’d like that too, but currently mixed tracks always go to the bottom.

If you do this kind of thing regularly, it could be worth adding a keyboard shortcut for “Move focussed track up”
(Shortcuts Preferences - Audacity Manual)